← Served with Andy Roddick
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- [00:01]
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- [01:09]
Producer Mike
Hey Chuckers, Producer Mike here and this is your served five setter for today, Friday, August 8th. This is five stories from all over the racket sports world in 10 minutes or less. But before we get into it, a little heads up. Andy and I knocked out a quick served recapping the Canadian Open. What a finish that was last night. Be sure to check it out, link in the show description or head over to our YouTube page or anywhere you get your podcast to find it. Now let's get into it. All right guys, I'm going to say something that we say a lot. The tennis schedule never stops. The Cincinnati Open is officially underway and it's showing off its $260 million renovation. The upgrades include a new 2300 seat stadium, new court designs, new 10 practice courts, and a new player clubhouse. The transformation was made possible by a number of partners who not only reimagined the venue, but also helped keep the tournament where it is. They're giving fans a behind the scenes look of how it all came together in a new docu series. Here's a preview.
- [02:13]
Cincinnati Open Representative
I really wanted to be a generational steward of this asset and what I find is that if you put your heart and soul into something like this, I think if you put your heart and soul into it, people know it.
- [02:28]
Producer Mike
The multi part docu series offers an exclusive look at the renovations and will track the tournament ending with the men's and women's finals. Go check it out on the Cincinnati Open's YouTube page. The Open will run until August 18th. On to set number two and something that starts right after the Cincinnati Open, the final Grand Slam of the season. The U.S. open will have the largest prize pool in tennis history. A record $5 million will go to both men's and women's cent singles champions, a big increase from last year when Sinner and Sabalenka both took home 3.6 million. In total, $85 million will be awarded across all competitions and total player compensation is jumping 20% to $90 million. Why? The $1 million prize money for the reimagined mixed doubles event drew headlines. The winning men's and women's doubles teams will also take home $1 million this year. This shows the US Open is making good on its plan to increase pay in all rounds of all event all right guys, let's move on to a headline out of collegiate tennis. Another program has been cut despite what seems to be a surge of former college tennis players at the top of the rankings, Prairie View A and M ended its men's and women's programs on Monday. This brings the total to 15 programs cut over the last two years. Check out these stories.
- [03:47]
Eastern Illinois University President
Eastern Illinois University is making some changes to some of its athletic programs. The men's and women's tennis teams will be cut effective immediately. The President says it's because the House versus NCAA settlement. It's expected to drastically reduce NCAA distribution to schools.
- [04:04]
UTEP Athletic Director
UTEP women's tennis is being discontinued effective immediately. Financials a big reason UTEP made this move. UTEP says the discontinuation of women's tennis will enable the reallocation of resources to other sports programs. UTEP adding this decision comes as it prepares for upcoming changes to college athletics, including revenue sharing and roster caps which are part of the pending House versus NCAA settlement.
- [04:28]
Producer Mike
It's well known that tennis is a low revenue sport at the college level with small team sizes and costly facility expenses. It's easy to target for cuts to free up funding for revenue generating sports. David Mullins is the CEO of the ITA which oversees college tennis. He said our position is strengthened with each passing Grand Slam. But on the other side we we have all of these challenges here domestically that we are not able to control. The USTA is currently offering grants to colleges that open tennis centers as a way to help subsidize growth. While it's hard court season here in the U.S. spain just hosted one of tennis most extraordinary events playing on sand at low tide. The legendary Tennis Playa Tournament in Huanco wrapped up this week. For over 50 years, this one of a kind tournament has been racing against the clock and the Atlantic Ocean. Picture this. Every evening the tide goes out, crews rush to transform wet sand in a professional tennis court. They've got just an hour before the sea reclaims it all. Players aren't just battling opponents, they're battling time. Despite the beach setting, this is some serious tennis. Former Grand Slam champion Dominic Thiem and Richard Gasquet headlined the event this year, bringing world class tennis to the sand. You guys want to know who conquered the tide and was crowned champion between team and gasket? Full results are waiting for you in the newsletter. All right guys, onto the fifth and final set and it brings news out of Saudi Arabia. The Six King Slam is back and so is its huge prize money. The exhibition is returning in October. Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and defending champion Jannik Sinner are all confirmed to return with Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Jack Draper joining the trio. All players reportedly received $1.5 million just for competing in last year's event. Not a bad payday. Curious if it will be the same this year. Beyond the tennis, the event brought the game into the future with holograms, light shows and cinematic level production. Check out this clip from the event trail. I'm sure they'll have a lot of new and innovative and fun things planned for this year, including their promo material. If you guys haven't seen it, check it out. I think Taylor Fritz has some tattoos on his face. Can't wait to see what they got planned. The Six King Slam will be played between the Shanghai and Paris Masters. All right chuckers, before we wrap it up, time for our tie break trivia. Including last year's lineup, the Six Kings Slam has featured the winners of the last 19 majors. So who was the last man to win a Slam and not play in this event? You'll find the answer in this week's five setter newsletter along with our full weekend draw. So you know what to watch, where and when. Hit the link in the show description to subscribe alright guys, that's a wrap for this week's five Setter. Be sure to hit subscribe Give us a Follow Drop a comment, give us a like do all the things that you like to do and I appreciate you when you tell me I'm spelling things wrong, saying things wrong and also apparently laughing too much. Thanks for whoever commented that in the last episode. If you haven't checked out that last episode, which was hilarious, it's the Brian Brothers. Go check it out. That episode's out now on all of our platforms. And that will do it this week. See you soon, Chuckers. Bye.